Oakland A's third baseman Josh Donaldson tags out Seattle Mariner Kyle Seager at a close play at third base. Oakland dropped a tight decision to Seattle on Sept. 3 when King Felix out dueled Jon Lester, 2-1.

Stanford Cardinal wide receiver Ty Montgomery is tackled deep in the USC Trojans' red zone by corner back Chris Hawkins (No. 4) just short of the goal line. In a defensive battle, the Trojans topped the Cardinal 13-10 at Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto on Sept. 6 in the first 2014 Pac-12 conference game for both schools. For an album, shortly to be posted, visit our Facebook page and be sure to LIKE us. Photo by Kenny Karst.

The San Francisco Fire, the first National Pro Grid Team in San Francisco, defeated the Philadelphia Founders at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley on Aug. 28. Grid, newly formed, is the world's first professional spectator sport with co-ed teams competing in strategic athletics racing. To view an album of the competition, click HERE or visit our Facebook page and be sure to LIKE us. For more information, visit www.npgl.com. Photo by Kenneth Wong.

A boisterous crowd cheered its approval as the San Francisco Bay Bombers took down the rival Los Angeles FireBirds in an action-packed contest on Aug. 23 at Kezar Pavilion. Above,

tempers flair as FireBirds women's captain Patsy Delgado and Bay Bombers women's captain Lali O come to blows during the wild and woolly game. To view an album, click HERE or visit our Facebook page and be sure to LIKE us. Photo by Ed Jay.

Levi's Stadium. Here the 49ers' video team blends dozens of TV networks provided by Comcast Business Services (such as ESPN, Fox, and NFL RedZone), with feeds from more than 20 cameras inside the stadium to produce a high tech visual experience for those attending each home game. Photo by Rich Yee.

Cameo

Renowned sports photographer Michael (Z-man) Zagaris (left), is shown prior to a recent Oakland A's vs. Seattle Mariners game. Not only is the ultra-talented "Z" the official Oakland A's photographer but he serves in the same capacity for the San Francisco 49ers as well. With a lineage dating back to the 1960s, when he first began to capture the local rock-n-roll music scene, Michael has created an indelible photographic legacy for Bay Area sports and music history fans. Photo by Ann Cooke.

Oakland Moose Lodge #324

690 Hegenberger Road

Oakland, California 94621

(510) 569-9569

oaklandmoose324@sbcglobal.net

For the Raiders Home Opener on Sept. 14, come on over to the Oakland Moose Lodge and enjoy food, drink and music by SHANE DWIGHT: http://shanedwight.com

The festivities will start at 10:30 a.m. until game time.....

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There are 31 days left until the start of the NHL season, Oct. 8, with the San Jose Sharks

visiting the Los Angeles Kings.

Memorable Sports Moments

Sabrina and Ben Baker

Greatest memories:

a drive, a ball and

a bonus

--Steve Baker

My greatest memories as a sports fan and agent were the creation of an exception to the NFL salary cap, missing out on the possibility of catching a historic baseball, and watching a client achieve a

$10 million bonus I had negotiated with the legendary Bill Walsh.

No. 1: I was driving through the San Francisco Presidio one day in early 1999, on the way to the birth of my twins at California Pacific Medical Center, and the Oakland Raiders called offering a $500,000 one-year deal to a linebacker client of my mine.

I asked if they'd agree that he'd be worth $1 million if he were the starter and if they'd agree that 51 percent playing time would qualify him as a starter.

They said they would pay $1 million if he were the starter but couldn't negotiate an incentive to get to $1 million at 51 percent playing time since my client had seen action in over 80 percent of the plays the previous year and any incentive below that amount would count against the salary cap.

I thought there was a good chance my client would be in on over 50 percent of the plays that year but 80 percent was very unlikely. I asked the team to consider if I could come up with a salary cap-friendly way to close the deal.

They agreed to my proposal of a five-year deal (where the final four years could disappear after the first year), with a $500,000 signing bonus that was deferred to the end of the year and forfeited if my client failed to play 51 percent of the plays. It was an end run around the salary cap because of the potential $1 million payout on a deal whose salary cap number was only $600,000. And it was unique -- such a deal had never before been negotiated in the NFL.

One of my passions in the sports business is to find unique ways to structure a deal. As it turned out, my client played over 51 percent of the plays (but saw far less action than the year before) and made his $1 million. The team got a starter at a fair contract. And last but hardly least, my wife gave birth to twins that day, a boy and girl (Ben and Sabrina). Feb. 9, 1999, one of the best days of my life.

No. 2: During Game 1 of the Dodgers vs. A's 1988 World Series, my future wife and I had to leave our right-field seats in the seventh inning to go see my future mother-in-law in the premiere of the play "Steel Magnolias" at the Pasadena Playhouse.

We watched the ninth inning on my little Sony Watchman in the playhouse parking lot. That's where we saw injured Dodger Kirk Gibson hit perhaps the most famous game-winning home run in baseball history right into the area where we had been sitting in right field.

My mother-in-law got a standing ovation, and the Dodgers went on to pull off one of the great World Series upsets. I suspect that ball is now pretty valuable.

No. 3: It was the final game of the San Francisco 49ers 2001 season.

I had negotiated a $10 million escalation clause into Jeff Garcia's contract, which would be earned if he finished the season as the NFL's third-rated quarterback.

Going into the game he was ranked fourth. But then he threw four touchdown passes and passed Brett Favre to finish as the third-ranked quarterback in the NFL by less than a percentage point. I'll never forget Jeff's face the following day when in my office I told him he had just made another $10 million.

But more important, and better than any of these, was my son's first goal in water polo last year.

Steve Baker is a prominent San Francisco-based sports attorney and law professor who

has negotiated millions of dollars in creative sports and marketing contracts for professional athletes, broadcasters and Olympic athletes.

Steve negotiated what were at the time the largest quarterback, outside linebacker and special teams player contracts in NFL history. Local San Francisco 49ers and Oakland Raiders clients include: Jeff Garcia, Ray Brown, Shayne Skov, Jon Ritchie, Matt Giordano and Courtney Anderson. He is a graduate of Tufts University and Cornell Law School. (www.bakersports.com)

Send us your Memorable Sports Moment and we will share them with our readers. Write: theultimatesportsguide@gmail.com

Ultimate Sports Guide, a glossy print publication serving the San Francisco Bay Area with two editions a year, the Spring/Summer Baseball edition and the Fall/Winter Football edition. For expansive photo albums of the local teams, visit our Facebook page and be sure to LIKE us. For an informative e-newsletter mailed to our sports-minded database, CLICK HERE or, send your email address to: theultimatesportsguide@gmail.com.